At an extended meeting of Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, President Vladimir Putin called for a stronger push to cut off drug supply and trafficking networks. This assessment was conveyed by RIA News in its coverage.
Putin noted that there has been a rise in the use of highly dangerous synthetic drugs within the country. He stressed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, working closely with the Federal Security Service, other intelligence bodies, and the Federal Customs Service, should greatly intensify efforts to locate production sites, trace foreign raw materials, and disrupt the channels that feed the supply and distribution of these substances.
The president also outlined a broader process. He directed the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Federal Penitentiary Service, the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, and the Public Chamber to present ideas on how drug control legislation can be improved. Proposals aiming to strengthen the state’s anti-drug policy were to be prepared by July 1, 2024.
Earlier reports noted that two Russian nationals faced deprivation of citizenship in Moscow related to drug trafficking offences for the first time in a high-profile case.